Hi all, new to the forum

 

Anyone have experience with the Fabia 1.4 TDI?

Reason I ask is, I am very close to purchasing my first car* and it
appears that the Skoda Fabia 1.4TDI is the cheapest car to insure; even
cheaper than the slower SDI variant. I have compared it to many
different cars and it always comes out the cheapest.

 

Any serious issues to look out for on these cars?

My estimated mileage is approximately 18,000 a year hence why I would
like a diesel, plus the fact that I have driven a petrol before but much
preferred the diesel.

*I have had my license for just under a year now so insurance is now
affordable, plus I have driven a company pool car for nearly a year
which has made a difference to the price.

 

Many thanks

Edited 9 February, 201412 yr by Midlands95

Hi there and welcome,

I was in the same position as you, I'd never thought about skoda then I had the offer of my uncles 06 fabia 1.4tdi, I wasn't that keen but my dad said I'd be a fool to pass up on it so I bought it and now I'm a total skoda nut!

I love mine, it handles well, it's never failed to start, I find it very economical even though I only use shell v power diesel in it, and so far nothing has gone wrong in the 3 years I've owned it.

You will find a wealth of information on here regarding the probs that can affect most Fabias , but I've never had any of them yet.

I say go for it, I've never regretted it.

I agree with elethan, I have owned two from new and I keep them well serviced, always use the correct oil for the TDI engines.

 

Have fun.

 

DB.

Having a 70bhp Mk1 myself, and an 80bhp Greenline Mk2 for her indoors,I have a good feel for them and thoroughly enjoy driving them. They are proving very reliable (Mk1 on 150K miles, Mk2 on 55K miles) with both covering about 12K miles/year. While they are not hot hatches, once on the move progress can be briskish.

They will have the usual Fabia problems - leaks, console bushes etc - but apart from general maintenance and tyres there has been no unexpected expenditure so far. You may not have the same choice to purchase, there are not as many as 1.9TDI's, and the majority appear to be low spec Classics like mine, but there may be desired extras on these, mine has key controled central locking and manual windows/mirrors but air con and cruise control.

Having a 70bhp Mk1 myself, and an 80bhp Greenline Mk2 for her indoors,I have a good feel for them and thoroughly enjoy driving them. They are proving very reliable (Mk1 on 150K miles, Mk2 on 55K miles) with both covering about 12K miles/year. While they are not hot hatches, once on the move progress can be briskish.

They will have the usual Fabia problems - leaks, console bushes etc - but apart from general maintenance and tyres there has been no unexpected expenditure so far. You may not have the same choice to purchase, there are not as many as 1.9TDI's, and the majority appear to be low spec Classics like mine, but there may be desired extras on these, mine has key controled central locking and manual windows/mirrors but air con and cruise control.

 

 

I agree with elethan, I have owned two from new and I keep them well serviced, always use the correct oil for the TDI engines.

 

Have fun.

 

DB.

 

 

Hi there and welcome,

I was in the same position as you, I'd never thought about skoda then I had the offer of my uncles 06 fabia 1.4tdi, I wasn't that keen but my dad said I'd be a fool to pass up on it so I bought it and now I'm a total skoda nut!

I love mine, it handles well, it's never failed to start, I find it very economical even though I only use shell v power diesel in it, and so far nothing has gone wrong in the 3 years I've owned it.

You will find a wealth of information on here regarding the probs that can affect most Fabias , but I've never had any of them yet.

I say go for it, I've never regretted it.

 

Cheers for the replies, looks like its one to go for then!

 

Question, how noisy is the car at 70-80mph i.e. motorway speeds? I drive a 1.6 petrol Chevrolet Lacetti on the motorway quite often and the noise drives you dolally; drones on revving at over 3500rpm! I know it will rev lower being a diesel but it will be interesting to know what the noise is like.

 

I did notice that there aren't many 1.4TDIs around, I am not too fussed about extras but air-conditioning is something I definitely need.

Edited 9 February, 201412 yr by Midlands95

The Polo I drove (mentioned elsewhere ) was plenty quiet enough, certainly not intrusive on the motorway, and my Fabia 1 vRS made much more tyre noise than engine noise on the motorway. Never driven a Lacetti, but I'd imagine a Fabia will be a pleasant change.

The Polo I drove (mentioned elsewhere ) was plenty quiet enough, certainly not intrusive on the motorway, and my Fabia 1 vRS made much more tyre noise than engine noise on the motorway. Never driven a Lacetti, but I'd imagine a Fabia will be a pleasant change.

 

Try to keep it that way

 

Cheers for the reply

Thanks for all your responses, I test drove a 54 plate one today with 77k on the clock, I quite liked it so I have bought it! It's in good condition, Classic trim level but it has AC. It's having the timing belt, water pump, oil/oil filter and fuel filter replaced before I collectit

 

Watch this space and I'll get a picture up when I've collected it

Insist that after changing the cam belt that the timing is set Spot On.

 

This means that the camshaft sprocket should be set to read in the VCDS programme - Engine - Meas Blocks 04 - Torsion Value of 0.0

 

This makes the world of difference, it gives good torque and MPG and happy motoring.

 

What is the engine rated at 75 or 80 BHP.

 

DB.

Insist that after changing the cam belt that the timing is set Spot On.

 

This means that the camshaft sprocket should be set to read in the VCDS programme - Engine - Meas Blocks 04 - Torsion Value of 0.0

 

This makes the world of difference, it gives good torque and MPG and happy motoring.

 

What is the engine rated at 75 or 80 BHP.

 

DB.

 

Hi, thanks for this. It's a 75BHP model

My wife's 75 BHP has more OOOMPH but slightly less MPG, however its still brilliant, it averages about 60MPG - My 80 BHP is smoother with better MPG around the 65 MPG, both on the cars computer, you only have to use the first 10mm of throttle when set right, these figures are when floating along on A & B roads, obviously it's less when driving around built up areas.

 

DB.

Nice little motors. I've a 70 BHP Classic, 1.4TDi, which has done 400 mile trips in it's stride, no problem with oomph/ accerelaration , and not noisy at a lot above the limit. Handles well ,possibly better than the four pot version ( and I'm known for asking a car to corner),as it's a lot lighter on the front end. Fuel consumption , possibly a tad higher than most, as I don't look for ecoomy ,but it's aroud 50 + in town. Great little motor, I'd aprove of as a first car for my kids.

I've been told to thrash the car/acclerate hard etc. for about 30 minutes once it's warmed up when I get it just to 'clear it out'

 

How true is this and what purpose does it serve?

Yup, called the Italian tune up. Basically it gets the cylinders nice and hot so burns the carbon build up off of the piston / injectors etc. Also clears out the cat etc as it gets so hot.

 

My car always feels more brisk after doing it, just don't like doing it anymore incase it blows the turbo haha

Well see how it goes first, when I drive mine I rarely take them above 2500 rpm apart from 5th, they simply run out of OOOMPH, I may occasionally give them a blast to clear out any cobewbs, the main point is to get the timing absolutely spot on, as I have said previously with the MEAS Torsion Block set at 0.0.

 

DB.

Midlands95, how is your car running?

 

DB

I've been told to thrash the car/acclerate hard etc. for about 30 minutes once it's warmed up when I get it just to 'clear it out'

 

How true is this and what purpose does it serve?

Although mine's the four pot, this makes a big difference on mine too. It feels much more willing after a good blast. Just accelerating, letting it get to 3.5Kish rpm in each gear (when it's warmed up) seems to be enough. A motorway slip road, or a fast A-road trip should do the trick. If I don't do this for a while, it starts to feel quite sluggish over time.

Collected the car yesterday but was unwell so I took it for a good run on some A-roads today, thrashed it a bit when it was warmed up

 

All seems to run very well, averaged about 58mpg driving on hilly A-roads and about 3-4 miles of city traffic, well pleased! Apart from when I purposely put my foot to the floor, I haven't yet had the need to take it much about 2500rpm.

 

Pic here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8zy5u4x756dcqvz/Photo%2016-02-2014%2016%2024%2019.jpg

Edited 16 February, 201412 yr by Midlands95

Got a question, is it just me or do you have to be travelling at slightly over 30mph if you want to be in 4th gear in this car? If I do go into 4th at 30mph the car seems to grumble a bit if that makes sense? It doesn't feel like it's over revving or anything in 3rd but I was previously used to being in 4th when cruising around at 30 in built up areas.

 

I don't want to be in a higher gear than necessary and labour the engine; plus it can apparently cause premature failure of the DMF?

 

This is only a general enquiry BTW; I am not having any problems with poor economy etc.

Edited 22 February, 201412 yr by Midlands95

With the timing sprocket set spot on, as described earlier, the engine will pull cleanly in 4th from 1000 rpm, but obviously without great power until it reaches 1800 rpm

DB

With the timing sprocket set spot on, as described earlier, the engine will pull cleanly in 4th from 1000 rpm, but obviously without great power until it reaches 1800 rpm

DB

 

Based on this, mine seems to be working OK. Cheers

Mines just the same mids, i have to be doing 32 to 33 mph for it to be smooth in fourth so I stay in third in 30 zones, and keep it to about 28mph instead. It seems to improve the mpg to.

Got a question, is it just me or do you have to be travelling at slightly over 30mph if you want to be in 4th gear in this car? If I do go into 4th at 30mph the car seems to grumble a bit if that makes sense? It doesn't feel like it's over revving or anything in 3rd but I was previously used to being in 4th when cruising around at 30 in built up areas.

 

I don't want to be in a higher gear than necessary and labour the engine; plus it can apparently cause premature failure of the DMF?

 

This is only a general enquiry BTW; I am not having any problems with poor economy etc.

Even my four pot PD100 is like this.... it think the gear ratios are the same.

 

4th is only really good for the flat and level at 30mph. MPG doesn't seem badly affected by running in the lower gear, so long as I don't get trigger happy with the throttle (which is easier said than done, as it pulls so well when revving away!). The same applies at higher speeds. I tend to use fourth for 50mph limits, unless it's flat and level and I find MPG benefits from using lower gears to get up to speed when accelerating, even though the car feels like it accelerates faster.

 

For example, I'll hold 2nd until 30ishmph,  3rd until 50ishmph and fourth until 70mph on your average motorway sliproad, then change to 5th when on the motorway and travelling at a constant speed. In fact, I try not to accelerate in 5th at all. I suppose the engine is never labouring doing things this way, which is why MPG is better. Also, I believe this way of accelerating is better for the clutch and DMF (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong though) and it doesn't even need much throttle to get going briskly (I'm not a fan of mashing the pedals). It seems to shock a few people when my boggo steel-wheeled Fabia overtakes them on the entrance to the sliproad also 

For example, I'll hold 2nd until 30ishmph,  3rd until 50ishmph and fourth until 70mph on your average motorway sliproad, then change to 5th when on the motorway and travelling at a constant speed. In fact, I try not to accelerate in 5th at all. I suppose the engine is never labouring doing things this way, which is why MPG is better. Also, I believe this way of accelerating is better for the clutch and DMF (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong though) and it doesn't even need much throttle to get going briskly (I'm not a fan of mashing the pedals). It seems to shock a few people when my boggo steel-wheeled Fabia overtakes them on the entrance to the sliproad also 

 

There is a long downhill section just as you join a fast A-road that I frequent, over there I can get away with staying in third just a little longer and then going straight to fifth. I must say, for a 1.4 I have been quite impressed with how it copes with overtaking and joining fast roads

Edited 25 February, 201412 yr by Midlands95

Sooo I filled up today and worked out that I averaged about 54mpg; that is with pretty much a 50/50 mix of city driving and A-roads/motorway and quite often not driving with fuel efficiency in mind. I'm impressed

Edited 2 March, 201412 yr by Midlands95